The Bitcoin Starter Kit: A Canadian Helping Other Canadians Buy Bitcoin

Feb. 27, 2019 9:27 AM ET

Every so often I hear a saying that goes something like this: If only you had invested $100 or $1,000 or some small amount in bitcoin several years ago, you'd be sitting on millions now. I often stop that person right there. If bitcoin was as easy to buy back in 2010 as opening my TD Waterhouse account and clicking buy, I probably would have bought some back then. I had no idea how to access bitcoin at the time. The improved access today when compared to several years ago is a large driver for its substantial increase in value, though it is still far from easy from buying.

Looking at the Stocktwits feed for BTC.X, you would think it's as easy to trade bitcoin as it is stocks, but it's not. And that's one of the main reasons to remain bullish on bitcoin. For those who want put the effort into making an account now and get in "kind of" early, at least before the ETFs get a hold of bitcoin, there is still substantial profit to be had.

I have talked about Fintech Select's Selectcoin program before, and its slow pace goes to show you just how tough it is to get bitcoin into the hands of the masses. An associate of mine, Mike Cautillo, has come up with his own solution for the everyday Canadian to get familiar with bitcoin through the Bitcoin Starter Kit. The kit can be purchased online at https://thebitcoinstarterkit.ca.

The kit comes in two different forms. An Original kit for $138 that contains:

1. A USB flash drive called an OPENDIME that is preloaded with $30 CAD of BTC that can be spent, traded or stored away as an investment.

2. A members only part of the website which will serve as a unique and ongoing communication portal to familiarize the buyer with bitcoin. This includes video tutorials where you will learn how to access, properly store and trade bitcoin online.

3. A book called The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous which provides a very informative backdrop of the financial and technological catalysts driving bitcoin.

4. An opportunity to receive $10 CAD equivalent in BTC for every Bitcoin Starter Kit sold that the buyer refers.

The Junior kit costs $68 and includes $20 CAD of BTC preloaded on an OPENDIME along with access to the website, but no book or referral opportunity. For a complete beginner with a non-finance background, I would suggest getting the full package for the book. If you have a finance background but also an interest in taking advantage of the referral opportunity, the full package would turn out cheaper if you can refer six or more people. If you have a finance background and no interest in the referral opportunity, then the junior package should suffice.

The Bitcoin Starter Kit is a complete resource for the theory behind bitcoin and a how to guide for buying it. As my background is in finance, I already understand that theory. As someone who is unfamiliar with how to buy bitcoin at an online exchange, that part was useful to me. The process of being able to transact in bitcoin is more complicated than opening a brokerage account for trading stocks, but this kit makes that process as clear as possible.

One key highlight of this kit that cannot be overlooked is the stress on security and protection of your bitcoin. For anyone who has lost money holding cryptocurrency on an exchange, you can understand the value of this advice. QuadrigaCX went into bankruptcy protection after the CEO died and he took with him all of the key codes to the grave. Type in "cryptocurrency exchange bankruptcy" into a search engine and you will see numerous stories of people getting scammed or performing scams. Everything from incompetence to bad luck to money laundering has tarnished the reputations of these exchanges and caused a lack of trust in them.

As part of the online toolkit, the video made for assisting users in getting their bitcoin into an online wallet obviously uses an example of a specific wallet. While the kit doesn't specifically recommend that one, it was a big help in determining what I should use to help me connect to the world of online bitcoin transacting.

If you want to buy bitcoin, but are too lazy or intimidated to do the research yourself, this kit is a great help. 25% of the kit's cost is given back to you through bitcoin. Avoiding procrastination actually helps quite a bit here. With time, there will be greater access to bitcoin for the masses. But with greater access will come a greater demand. Given that supply of bitcoin is capped at 21 million, increased demand will lead to increased price. If bitcoin rises four times between the time you purchased the kit and when it becomes as easy to buy as stocks, the kit would have paid for itself. If it rises more than that, you profit. Getting in as early as possible is the key here, especially since the price of bitcoin has dropped from $20,000 USD to about $4,000 USD as of the date of this review so you aren't buying at the all time highs.

You will get a 5% discount off the purchase price if you use my referral link below: